AD Tripwires vs phpMyAdmin Honeypot: 2026 Comparison
AD Tripwires is a commercial honeypots & deception tool by Horizon3.ai. phpMyAdmin Honeypot is a free honeypots & deception tool. Compare features, ratings, integrations, and community reviews side by side to find the best honeypots & deception fit for your security stack.
CST VerdictBased on our analysis of NIST CSF 2.0 coverage, core features, company size fit, deployment model, here is our conclusion:
Mid-market and enterprise security teams that treat Active Directory as a detection problem, not just a hardening problem, should evaluate AD Tripwires. It deploys honeypot objects directly into AD to catch reconnaissance and lateral movement before it reaches production assets, and the integration with Horizon3.ai's NodeZero platform means you validate that your tripwires actually work against your real attack surface. Skip this if your team lacks the AD expertise to maintain decoy objects or if you're looking for a tool that also handles response automation; AD Tripwires is detection and alerting only.
Teams defending legacy infrastructure with exposed phpMyAdmin instances should deploy phpMyAdmin Honeypot to catch reconnaissance before it becomes lateral movement; it's free, requires minimal setup, and gives you visibility into attack patterns targeting your actual admin interfaces. The 68 GitHub stars and active maintenance suggest real operational use, though this is a single-purpose tool that won't replace a broader deception platform if you're running multiple exposed services. Skip this if your phpMyAdmin instances are already behind VPN or network segmentation; the honeypot's value collapses once attackers can't reach it.
